Form work for casting concrete



Apr-i121, 1970 G. BLONDE 3,507,473

FORM WORK FOR CASTING CONCRETE Filed Dec. 9, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 P1970 c. BLONDE FORM WORK FOR CASTING CONCRETE Filed Dec. 9, 1966 2Sheets-Sheet 2 United States Patent Office 3,507,473 Patented Apr. 21,1970 Int Cl. E04 11/00 US. Cl. 249-27 3 Claims ABSTRACT OF THEDISCLOSURE A form work for casting concrete therein to produce astructure, said form work comprising at least one shuttering member todefine one surface of the structure to be produced, an end panel fordefining an end face of said structure, the end panel being pivotallyconnected to one edge of said shuttering and having a width at leastequal to the thickness of the structure to be produced, and fasteningmeans pivotally attached to the shuttering on the same pivot axis as theend panel for fastening said end panel in an end face defining positionagainst hydrostatic pressure exerted on said end panel by cast concrete.

The present invention relates to form Work for casting concrete toproduce walls and floors, and is particularly concerned with form workthe shuttering members of which are associated with end panels forclosing the ends or sides of the space defined thereby. Moreparticularly the invention relates to form work which has shutteringmembers including end panels and which provides the advantage thatconcrete walls and floors can be cast in one operation.

When a structure, such as a wall or floor, is to be cast by means ofform work or shuttering relatively small shuttering panels may berequired to define the ends of the structure. The respective dimensionsof such small panels must not be less than the thickness of the wall orfloor to be produced. The panels are fixed to the main shutteringmembers by means of rods, clamps, hooks or the like. The most convenientmethod of fixing the end panels of wall shuttering members has been bymeans of twelve bolts for a wall of normal height. For fixing an endpanel of a floor shuttering a minimum of four bolts was necessary.

The main disadvantages of panels fixed by means of bolts are that theend panels are additional pieces of equipment to be handled; that thesmall end panels are frequently not placed square with respect to themain shuttering when the bolts are tightened, and that assembling anddismantling the end panels causes an appreciable loss of time. In factas much time may be required under some circumstances for erecting thesmall end panels as for installing the large main shuttering members.

It is one object of the present invention, to provide a form work forcasting concrete which avoids these dis advantages.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a form work forcasting concrete which comprises a pivotal end panel adapted to fitacross the thickness of a wall or floor member at the end thereof, theend panel being pivotally connected to a main shuttering and arranged tobe moved into a required position relatively thereto by means of anappropriate fastening or adjusting device pivotally attached to theshuttering on the same pivot axis as the end panel and capable ofwithstanding the hydrostatic pressure exerted by the concrete.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide inventionto provide a form work for casting concrete wherein the pivotal endpanel attached to a vertical shuttering for a wall is preferably longerthan the height of the shuttering in order that it extends over thewhole height of the wall, and its upper portion is preferably removableor pivotal in such manner that it can be displaced downwardly, so thatthe whole vertical shuttering member located below a floor which hasjust been cast can be removed, this upper portion being held uprightduring the casting and setting periods of the concrete by a lockingmeans.

Locking of the removable or pivotal upper portion of the end panel maybe effected by a horizontal bar which holds the portion upright while itis itself in engagement with an adjacent end panel 1 of a horizontalshuttering.

Adjustment of the end panel may be effected by a lever which isrotatable about the pivot axis of the end panel and the position ofwhich is controllable by a screw device which is supported on theshuttering and which is located at the one end of the lever, the otherend of this lever being adapted to be connected to the pivotal end panelfor effecting the adjustment and to be disconnected therefrom for movingthe pivotal panel to the open position thereof.

With these and other objects in view which will become apparent in thefollowing detailed description, the present lnvention, which is shown byway of example only, will be clearly understood in connection withaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a front elevation of a pivotal end panel attached toshutterings of a form work which is intended for casting a wall and afloor in one operation;

FIG. 2 is a section through the end portion of a wall along the lines AAof FIG. 1, showing a fastening means for the end panel; and

FIG. 3 is a partial section along the lines B-B of FIG. 1 through theend portion of a floor, however, with the end panel in the openposition.

Referring now to the drawings, a form work illustrated in FIG. 1 isconstituted substantially by two co-operating vertical shutterings 1a,1b and an adjacent horizontal shuttering 2, rigidity of the structurebeing obtained by a strut 3. In order to cast simultaneously a wall anda floor, at least the vertical shuttering members 1a, 1b are disposed inpairs in such manner, that they provide between them a space inaccordance with the thickness of the wall to be produced. When theshutterings are in position the ends of the wall must be defined by endpanels, and other end panels must be disposed at the sides of the floorbefore the concrete can be cast into the form work.

According to the invention a vertical shuttering, in the present casethe shuttering 1a, and the horizontal shuttering 2 each comprise fixingmeans 4 on which a vertical end panel 5 and a horizontal end panel 6,respectively, can be pivoted.

Each of the panels 5 and 6 can be held in the closed position by a lever7, which is pivotal at 8 on the same axis as the respective end paneland which is supported on a stiffening member 9 or 10 of the shuttering2 or 1a respectively, by means of a screw 11 located at one end of thelever and provided with a handle 12. The other end of the lever 7 isadapted to be connected to a bar 13 attached to the respective panel 5or 6, as shown in FIG. 2, by means of a screw 14 provided with a handle15 at one end and screwed into the lever 7, the other free end of thescrew being arranged to be engageable in a hole 16 provided in one endof the bar 13.

The upper portion 17 of the vertical end panel 5 may be removable or itmay be rotatable downwardly on a pivot 18 provided for this purpose. Theportion 17 connects the panels and 6 and is held in an upright positionby a locking bar 19, which is attached to this portion 17 and at thesame time to two adjacent floor end panels 6 at the floor shuttering 2.

The panels 5 and 6 are constructed generally similar to the memberconstituting the shutterings 1a, 1b and 2. They include a plate 20 andare stiffened by profiled members 21 of U-shaped cross-section, the twoflanges thereof being disposed parallel to the plane of the plate 20,and one of the flanges being fixed to the outside of this plate 20. Theupper end of the portion 17 is con-- structed in exactly the samemanner.

In general the dimensions of the various end panels are selected so thatthe upper end of the portion 17 is exactly at the same level as theupper edge of the panels 6 in their closed position. In order to holdthe portion 17 upright it is sufficient under these conditions to dropthe locking bar 19 in the upper members 21 of adjacent panels 6 and ofthe portion 17 where it will be maintained between the flanges.

After the shutterings 1a, 1b and 2 have been installed, the end panels 5and 6 as well as the portion 17 are moved into the closed position. Thescrew 14 is rotated in order to engage in the hole 16 and to connectthereby the lever 7 rigidly to the bar 13. Thereafter the screw 11 oneend of which is supported on the stiffening member (FIG. 2) must beadjusted by means of the handle 12 until the respective end panel 5 or 6is accurately positioned relatively to the respective form work panels1a, lb or 2. This adjustment can be effected with all the precisionwhich may be desirable and in particular to obtain sides of floors andends of walls which are at right angles to the respective surfaces.

When the concrete has been cast and has set and hardened, and before theform work is dismantled by removing the shutterings 1a, 1b and 2, thescrews 11 and 14 must be unscrewed in order that the vertical and panels5 and the horizontal end panels 6 can be moved into the open position.Before the panel 5 is opened the locking bar 19 must be removed and theupper portion 17 rotated downwardly or otherwise displaced.

Owing to the invention fewer parts of equipment are to be handled thanin the case of the conventional form work such as the lever and the bar13. Although for opening the end panels 5 and 6 certain members such asthe lever and the bar 13 must be disconnected from each other, it willbe evident that they remain connected to the shuttering members and runno risk of being lost or mislaid. Moreover appreciable time is gained inthe assembly and dismantling of the present form work because all theparts remain attached to :he form work members and readily available,and the and panels 5 and 6 are quickly closed and opened. Thus :heassembly time of the form work is shortened con- ;idcrably. With thisdevice it is also easier to obtain :xact alignment of the sides of floormembers and to nake these sides square.

Modifications may be made to the embodiment just lescribed without theform work obtained falling out- ;ide the scope of the invention. Inparticular any other closing device, locking device and adjustment meansfor the end panels may be considered.

I claim:

1. A shuttering for casting concrete walls or floors, comprising an endpanel fitting one face of a wall or floor,

said end panel being connected by pivot means to an edge of saidshuttering,

an adjustable fastening means pivotally attached to said shuttering bysaid pivot means and capable of withstanding the hydrostatic pressureexerted by the concrete as well as suitably locating said end panelrelatively to the surface of said shuttering,

said end panel, connected to said shuttering disposed vertically, beinglonger than the height of said shuttering, in order to extend over thewhole height of the wall to be produced,

said end panel having an upper portion,

said upper portion of said end panel being removable or pivotable, inorder to move downwardly said upper portion such, that said shutteringdisposed below a floor can be removed after the concrete has hardened,and which includes a locking means holding upright said upper portionduring the casting and setting periods of said concrete.

2. The shuttering as set forth in claim 1, which includes a horizontalbar engaging said upper portion of said end panel and adjacent endpanels of said shutterings disposed horizontally, in order to lock intheir upright position said end panels.

3. A shuttering for casting concrete walls or floors, comprising an endpanel fitting one face of a wall or floor,

said end panel being connected by pivot means to an edge of saidshuttering,

an adjustable fastening means pivotally attached to said shuttering bysaid pivot means and capable of withstanding the hydrostatic pressureexerted by the concrete as well as suitably locating said end panelrelatively to the surface of said shuttering,

a lever pivoted about the pivot axis of said end panel, in order toadjustably fasten said end panel in its closed position,

a screw device disposed at one end of said lever and supported by saidshuttering, in order to adjust the position of said lever, and

the other end of said lever being connected to said end panel foreffecting the adjustment, and to be disconnected from said end panel, inorder to move said end panel into its open position.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,014,630 1/1912 Morrill 24927X1,202,949 10/1916 Womack 249l71 X J. SPENCER OVERHOLSER, PrimaryExaminer M. O. SUTTON, Assistant Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R. 2513l;249-17l

